Easy Caprese Salad | Recipe

Yum! Doesn't that look delicious?! 

I know it is officially fall now and this seems like more of a summer-ish dish, but I wanted to share this incredibly easy and healthy caprese salad that I love making. What's awesome is that it only requires a few ingredients and tastes so good! It is important to note that you must use fresh mozzarella and fresh basil for this recipe, otherwise, the taste will not be the same. Recently I have been making an effort to eat only "whole foods" instead of processed junk. But this is so quick to make--it was my version of fast food today. I made a little mini-salad for lunch because I was the only one eating. The quantities can be easily adjusted to suit your needs. 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh Mozzarella

(found in the specialty cheese section, often near the deli, at the grocery store)

Fresh Basil 

(you can get this at the grocery store or grow your own basil plant)

Tomatoes 

(I used mini San Marzano, but tomatoes on the vine will work well, too)

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Wash basil and tomatoes well.

Cut basil into small strips.

Chop tomatoes and mozzarella into small, bite-size pieces.

Add these ingredients to a bowl. 

Mix equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar together. 

For a small, personal-sized salad, I used about 2-3 teaspoons each. Adjust to your taste.

Add to tomato mixture and mix well. The mozzarella will look brown from the vinegar.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

All done!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chip Muffins | Recipe

I don't post recipes very often here, but every fall my kids beg me to make this, so I just had to share. I first acquired this recipe from a friend at church who brought them for our Sunday school class. They were gone in about five minutes. I thought making them for my kids (who love most any kind of muffin) would be a good way to introduce pumpkin to their little taste buds. Sure enough, they devoured them quickly. Maybe it has something to do with the pumpkin and chocolate chip combination that is so yummy...

I adapted the original recipe from my friend to fit our tastes. You can also easily make your own modifications using almond or coconut flour and honey instead of sugar for a bit of a healthier muffin. Just do some experimenting and let your kids help. That's the fun part!

This recipe makes about 24 regular sized muffins or 48 mini muffins. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 cups mini chocolate chips
Butter for greasing muffin tins

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tins. Place eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat on low with hand mixer until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in another bowl. Add slowly to wet ingredients using hand mixer until fully incorporated. This batter will be thick. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased tins about 3/4 full. Regular-size muffins, bake for 14-16 minutes; for mini muffins, bake about 10-12 minutes or until they test done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before removing.

Store in airtight container. These muffins freeze well.

Summer Treats

I hate to admit this, but I am so ready for summer to be over.  This summer was brutally hot and I cannot wait for cooler weather to arrive.  I'm also looking forward to the school year ahead for my kids as well as football season, Halloween, Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas.  Can you tell fall is my favorite season?

Still, there is a lot about summer that I love.  One thing I will particularly miss when the cooler weather arrives is the yummy fresh peaches, strawberries and blueberries I have been savoring. Several weeks ago my friend and I decided to brave the heat with our total of six children and go blueberry & blackberry picking.  The farm didn't open until 10 a.m. and by then it was awfully hot out.  I felt like I needed to take a shower after being out there for about three minutes. The heat was so bad that it had killed all of the blackberries. We still got quite a lot of blueberries, however.

The blueberries were really pretty.  Some of them were not quite ripe and the purple-y blue and deep pink colors were gorgeous together on the bushes. See?

Just a few blackberries left.

 Our berries after I had washed them.

Our berries were very sweet and oh so yummy! Sadly, I only ate a few of them before I ruined the remainder in a batch of muffins that were not good. Pretty disappointing.

I guess there's always next year.